This Just In: Chargers fans worried about Rivers

Philip Rivers during practice.

John Gibbins

Philip Rivers during practice.

Philip Rivers during practice. (John Gibbins)

Good morrrrning San Diego

What’s happening today: This Just In loves sports fans. Were it not for athletic supporters, TJI would be unemployed. And seeing as how TJI is incapable of earning a living any other way that stringing words together on a keyboard, were it not for fans, we’d be homeless, foodless and clothe-less, the latter a visual surely to cause nightmares.

Fans, of course, is a derivative of the word “fanatics,” which loosely translated means “a person who’s wacko about something.” In my unabridged Norcross dictionary, next to the word fanatic is a picture of a blue-and-gold, face-painted Chargers fan, lightning bolts stretching from his/her head. Said fan drives a Dodge Charger.

This fan treatise is delivered to you for multiple reasons. One: any U-T San Diego story with the word Chargers in the headline is guaranteed to draw 2,000,000 Web hits and our bosses quote Web-hit stats like ministers do Bible verses.

Secondly, This Just In conducted a poll on Monday asking sophisticated fans (oxymoron) if they were worried about Philip Rivers’ preseason performance.

As of this morning, 58 percent of respondents said yes, they were fingernails-to-the-quick worried. To those fans that This Just so reveres, we say this, “Get yourself a life!”

People, this is the exhibition season. (The NFL hates the word “exhibition,” which is why we so love using it.) Rivers has completed 80 percent of his passes during the exhibition season. If you count the three interceptions he’s tossed, he’s completed 95.5 percent of his passes.

It’s those three interceptions that have fans palpitating.

One commentator went so far as saying that Rivers wouldn’t be the Bolts’ starting quarterback by the end of the season. Barring injury, I’ll give the guy 20-1 odds on that one.

Anyway, fans/fanatics/Chargers honks, do not fret about Philip Rivers. He’ll be fine. He’ll throw for 4,500 yards, 30 TDs, cut down his interceptions and the Chargers will be in the thick of the AFC West hunt. And if not, hopefully you’ll forget This Just In ever penned these words.

Morning tweet:

@jon_wertheim

RT @DanKennedy_NYC: Met some jerkoff yesterday who doesn't have a mustache and has never owned a food truck.

Morning tweet for the stat geek:

‏@ESPNStatsInfo

Clayton Kershaw and Madison Bumgarner-- 3rd time in Live Ball Era that 2 pitchers had 10 K, 0 BB in the same game -last: Prior/Vazquez, '03

Did you know?

ESPN Stats & Info ‏@ESPNStatsInfo

Elias Says Kevin Correia is the first pitcher since 1982 to start a game after pitching 2+ innings the previous day

Did you care?

Tim Lincecum has 27 losses the past two seasons. Career-high 14 last season. Pitches tonight at L.A. with chance for No. 14.

This date in sports history: 1878 - Edward Pooley completes record 8 stumpings in a cricket match. (TJI has no idea what stumpings are. Love the word, though.)

On the tube: Pirates at Padres, 7 p.m. FSSD. Pads go for third straight win.